Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jun 2013
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2013 The Record
Website: http://www.recordnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428
Author: Dana M. Nichols

THIRD MEDICAL POT SHOP REPORTED

ARNOLD - A third medical marijuana dispensary has opened in Calaveras
County, according to a medical marijuana advocate familiar with the
business.

The latest dispensary, Little Trees Wellness Collective, opened on
June 5 or 6 in the Oakridge Center on Highway 4 in Arnold, said Thomas
Liberty of Collective Patient Resources, a group that assists
terminally-ill medical marijuana patients.

Attempts to reach dispensary operator Jeremy Carlson on Monday
afternoon were unsuccessful. The business is closed Mondays and
Tuesdays, according to its website, and it's storefront at 2641
Highway 4 is a new location.

Liberty said Carlson had previously operated a medical marijuana
delivery service.

The dispensary joins the Forgotten Knowledge Collective in Valley
Springs and the Blue Mountain Collective in San Andreas as storefront
businesses offering medical pot in the county.

Of the three, only Blue Mountain Collective has complied with all
county regulations and obtained necessary county permits.

Developer Guy Meyer opened the Forgotten Knowledge dispensary in 2010
without obtaining county permits. The hangup, according to Meyer, was
that a commercial building he owns didn't have the specific zoning
required by the county. However, Meyer said, he was complying with
state guidelines for dispensaries.

Meyer and medical pot advocates have argued that the county's medical
pot ordinance sets overly restrictive and unrealistic zoning limits on
dispensaries.

Dispensaries elsewhere in the region have come and gone because of
conflicts with city zoning ordinances and, in some cases, because of
pressure by federal authorities.

Stockton leaders are considering a ban on medical marijuana
dispensaries and on May 31, Stockton businessman Matthew R. "Matt"
Davies, 35, pleaded guilty in federal court to 10 felony counts
related to marijuana selling and growing operations.

Davies, once a part-owner of now-closed Le Bistro Restaurant, operated
and/or owned seven storefront marijuana businesses in Stockton and
Sacramento.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt